Albuquerque police have been responding to more reports of family discord recently, and the holidays are a big reason why.
Albuquerque Police Department (APD) has noted an increase in domestic-violence and sexual-assault calls this holiday season, KOAT News reported Dec. 23.
Albuquerque Police Department Veteran Community Ambassador Lt. Juan Cabrerra
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"It's not a significant increase, but it is an increase," Lt. Juan Cabrerra, an APD Veteran Community Ambassador, said in the report.
Stephanie Villalobos puts that increase at 40%. Villalobos is the executive director of Valencia Shelter Services in Los Lunas, which she said has seen a 40% increase
in domestic violence and sexual assault victims during the 2021 holidays, according to the report.
"We see a lot of psychological abuse over the holiday season," Villalobos said. "We're seeing that rate also in line with child abuse and child witness."
The link between certain holidays and increased domestic violence has been studied for years. A 2005 study that looked into police incident reports of domestic violence in Idaho. The study found there was a 2.7 times higher number of reported cases over the New Year holiday compared to the usual daily average, according to the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.
"There are stresses with these type of holidays, and that can all mix in to contribute to this incident," Cabrerra said, but also advised that the number of criminal incidents typically varies from day to day.
"Weekday nights, for example Tuesday night, could even have more instances than a holiday weekend as well," he said.
Incidents of domestic violence continued to increase in Albuquerque through Christmas Eve, KOAT News reported Dec. 24, and Albuquerque police were investigating the city's 112th homicide.
If you or someone you know is dealing with violence at home, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-(800)-799-7233.